Samantha Kaiser (Economics and Health) and Kiana Anderson (Geography and Demographics) Introduction
East Greenwich has a reputation for being a quaint, wealthy town by the water in Rhode Island. It was founded by the Rhode Island General Assembly in 1677 while trying to designate property lines between Rhode Island and Connecticut (3). Today East Greenwich is a great place to go out for a meal and walk around while taking in the beautiful scenery of Greenwich bay.
The goal of this report is to better understand the town of East Greenwich and to make connections between the town's geography, demographics, economy, health, and the education system.
Geography
Located in Kent County, East Greenwich is a prosperous town sandwiched in between North Kingstown to the south and Warwick to the north. To west you will find West Greenwich and to the east you will find nothing but Water. East Greenwich is located on Greenwich bay, but even so the total water area of the town is less than one percent. The overall area East Greenwich is 16.71 square miles, making the town 1.37% of all of Rhode Island. A good chunk of East Greenwich is made up of undeveloped woods and farmland, but the amount of undeveloped land is decreasing over time (3).
Demographics
91.9 % of the East Greenwich population is white, leaving little room for diversity. Less than one percent is of African American decent, 4 % is of the asian persuasian, and the other three percent is a mix of other races. The distribution of age in EG is even, meaning there are about the same amount of young people as there are middle aged and elderly people. The ration of females to males is 100:93.8 respectively. 9% of males in East Greenwich hold management positions in their career and about 9% top executive positions as well. This is nearly double the states average percentage for male with these positions. The most popular proffession for the women of East Greenwich is teaching at nearly 11% (4). Each Greenwich proves to be one of the wealthier more affluent towns in the state with an average yearly income of nearly $170,000 for a household and $190,000 per family (3).
(2)
Economics
East Greenwich does not have an astoundingly diverse economic spread. East Greenwich is the wealthiest municipality within the state of Rhode Island. Much of East Greenwich is very wealthy, although there are families that experience poverty, unemployment, and overall economic struggle. These struggles are a small fraction of those seen in other areas in the state of Rhode Island. East Greenwich, relative to the rest of Rhode Island, has a higher median household income by about $40,000 and is a lot more affluent than most areas in the state. The median family income also follows this trend, and is $121,658 in East Greenwich while in Rhode Island it is only $78,872 (1). Only 5.5% of families fall below the poverty line in East Greenwich, which is significantly less than Rhode Island as a whole (13.2%) (1). 15.9% of those who live below the poverty level have less than a high school diploma while only 3.0% of those with a bachelor's degree or higher live below the line (2). The lower level of education reflects the difficulty for an individual to get a job with high wages. To counter this, the very low percent of those with high level education living below the poverty line show that a higher level of education makes it a bit easier to obtain a higher paying job. This wealthy town seems to experience little economic hardship and only has about a 4.8% unemployment rate (1,2).
Health
East Greenwich is a suburban town with little to no health and safety threats on a day to day basis. In 2013, only 403 children under the age of 19 needed medical assistance (4). This is significantly lower than Rhode Island (96,215). All statistics are lower than the count for all of Rhode Island (see below). This offers the idea that perhaps the wealth and higher levels of education in East Greenwich present a lower risk of health overall. There are factors that are unrelated to this, such as women with delayed prenatal care, infants born with low birth weight, infant mortality rate, and exclusively breast fed infants. Only 5 out of 1000 girls in East Greenwich give birth in their teen years, while Rhode Island's teens as a whole is about 23.3 for every 1000 (4).This suggests that the wealth of the town and the higher average education have an impact on the health and health decisions that people are making in the town of East Greenwich.
In terms of safety within the household, only 5.8 of every 1000 children experience abuse and neglect in East Greenwich, while in all of Rhode Island it is 14 children in every 1000 (4). Only 3.2 in every 1000 have incarcerated parents while Rhode Island's number is 11.2 for every 1000 children (4). Overall, East Greenwich is relatively safe and healthy compared to the many risks found in larger cities and urban areas.
Conclusion
In conclusion, East Greenwich is a relatively safe, economically sound, and mostly caucasian town. Its Geography, Demographics, Economics, and overall Health promote positive growth and success in the field of education. These three factors very much have to do with the education and stable workforce in the town. This towns average socioeconomic status influences performance in schools, which then effects performance in higher education, and finally the household income and family income. It is also important to consider the majority in the town.
Introduction
East Greenwich has a reputation for being a quaint, wealthy town by the water in Rhode Island. It was founded by the Rhode Island General Assembly in 1677 while trying to designate property lines between Rhode Island and Connecticut (3). Today East Greenwich is a great place to go out for a meal and walk around while taking in the beautiful scenery of Greenwich bay.
The goal of this report is to better understand the town of East Greenwich and to make connections between the town's geography, demographics, economy, health, and the education system.
Geography
Located in Kent County, East Greenwich is a prosperous town sandwiched in between North Kingstown to the south and Warwick to the north. To west you will find West Greenwich and to the east you will find nothing but Water. East Greenwich is located on Greenwich bay, but even so the total water area of the town is less than one percent. The overall area East Greenwich is 16.71 square miles, making the town 1.37% of all of Rhode Island. A good chunk of East Greenwich is made up of undeveloped woods and farmland, but the amount of undeveloped land is decreasing over time (3).
Demographics
91.9 % of the East Greenwich population is white, leaving little room for diversity. Less than one percent is of African American decent, 4 % is of the asian persuasian, and the other three percent is a mix of other races. The distribution of age in EG is even, meaning there are about the same amount of young people as there are middle aged and elderly people. The ration of females to males is 100:93.8 respectively. 9% of males in East Greenwich hold management positions in their career and about 9% top executive positions as well. This is nearly double the states average percentage for male with these positions. The most popular proffession for the women of East Greenwich is teaching at nearly 11% (4). Each Greenwich proves to be one of the wealthier more affluent towns in the state with an average yearly income of nearly $170,000 for a household and $190,000 per family (3).
Economics
East Greenwich does not have an astoundingly diverse economic spread. East Greenwich is the wealthiest municipality within the state of Rhode Island. Much of East Greenwich is very wealthy, although there are families that experience poverty, unemployment, and overall economic struggle. These struggles are a small fraction of those seen in other areas in the state of Rhode Island. East Greenwich, relative to the rest of Rhode Island, has a higher median household income by about $40,000 and is a lot more affluent than most areas in the state. The median family income also follows this trend, and is $121,658 in East Greenwich while in Rhode Island it is only $78,872 (1). Only 5.5% of families fall below the poverty line in East Greenwich, which is significantly less than Rhode Island as a whole (13.2%) (1). 15.9% of those who live below the poverty level have less than a high school diploma while only 3.0% of those with a bachelor's degree or higher live below the line (2). The lower level of education reflects the difficulty for an individual to get a job with high wages. To counter this, the very low percent of those with high level education living below the poverty line show that a higher level of education makes it a bit easier to obtain a higher paying job. This wealthy town seems to experience little economic hardship and only has about a 4.8% unemployment rate (1,2).
Health
East Greenwich is a suburban town with little to no health and safety threats on a day to day basis. In 2013, only 403 children under the age of 19 needed medical assistance (4). This is significantly lower than Rhode Island (96,215). All statistics are lower than the count for all of Rhode Island (see below). This offers the idea that perhaps the wealth and higher levels of education in East Greenwich present a lower risk of health overall. There are factors that are unrelated to this, such as women with delayed prenatal care, infants born with low birth weight, infant mortality rate, and exclusively breast fed infants. Only 5 out of 1000 girls in East Greenwich give birth in their teen years, while Rhode Island's teens as a whole is about 23.3 for every 1000 (4).This suggests that the wealth of the town and the higher average education have an impact on the health and health decisions that people are making in the town of East Greenwich.In terms of safety within the household, only 5.8 of every 1000 children experience abuse and neglect in East Greenwich, while in all of Rhode Island it is 14 children in every 1000 (4). Only 3.2 in every 1000 have incarcerated parents while Rhode Island's number is 11.2 for every 1000 children (4). Overall, East Greenwich is relatively safe and healthy compared to the many risks found in larger cities and urban areas.
Conclusion
In conclusion, East Greenwich is a relatively safe, economically sound, and mostly caucasian town. Its Geography, Demographics, Economics, and overall Health promote positive growth and success in the field of education. These three factors very much have to do with the education and stable workforce in the town. This towns average socioeconomic status influences performance in schools, which then effects performance in higher education, and finally the household income and family income. It is also important to consider the majority in the town.1) Bureau, U. S. C. (n.d.). American FactFinder - Community Facts. Retrieved October 17, 2014, from http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/community_facts.xhtml2) Bureau, U. S. C. (n.d.). American FactFinder - Community Facts. Retrieved October 17, 2014, from http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/community_facts.xhtml#none3) East Greenwich, Rhode Island. (2014, October 16). In Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=East_Greenwich,_Rhode_Island&oldid=620017710
4) Rhode Island Kids Count. (2014). 2014 Factbook. Retrieved from http://www.rikidscount.org/matriarch/documents/EastGreenwich2014.pdf